Austin, Texas

November 2017

Austin born and bred, Clancy Rose has worked in coffee since his days as a barista at the University of Texas. From that humble campus cafe, he joined Cafe Medici as one of its first hires and remained there, refining his pulls and pours for two-and-a-half years. Next, Rose put in six years of work as a roaster at Cuvee, where he built his own roasting perspective and, most importantly, relationships.

All that community goodwill, coupled with an emphasis on wholesale customer service, led to the nearly instant success of Wild Gift, Rose’s roastery with business partners Jenée and Rob Ovitt. The trio has rapidly grown their business—which was initially self-funded through bootstrapping—and they now roast 2,000 pounds of beans a week, sold to cafes (Fleet, Medici, and Thunderbird are a few) all around the city. In a short three years, they have upgraded roasters and facilities to accommodate demand.

From his playfully named espresso blends (Rude Boy and Troublemaker) to a wild-blue-fruit-bomb Guji, Rose’s coffees make for a character-filled cup and set him on a path to lead the Texas coffee scene.